In the absence of a consensus on the proposal to “dispense” with oil, gas and coal, it is likely that the duration of the United Nations climate change conference COP28, held in the Emirates, will be prolonged, after its work on Tuesday exceeded the time specified for its conclusion. The reason for this is mainly due to the adherence of some oil-producing countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to its position rejecting the idea of abandoning fossil fuels, which is strongly criticized by environmental organizations.
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Heading United Nations Climate Change Conference Which was supposed to conclude on Tuesday morning, towards extending its work due to the lack of consensus on fossil fuels, while many parties and observers believe that the recent draft agreement is very weak and does not respond to the urgent climate crisis.
The UAE presidency of the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties on Monday proposed a new text that seemed to take into account the demands of the oil-producing countries, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but reactions quickly came to express its inadequacy in the words of the Europeans and Americans, while the small island countries threatened by drowning with the rising ocean waters denounced it.
The document proposed by the Chairman of the COP28 Conference, Sultan Al Jaber, and the Chairman of the Emirati oil and gas company, ADNOC, leaves countries free to choose their way to “reduce” fossil fuel consumption and production, while its twenty-one pages do not specify any common goal of “dispensing” with oil, gas, and coal. Which was mentioned in previous drafts.
Joseph Sekulow, head of the Pacific region at the NGO 350.org, said the text was “unacceptable and falls far short of the ambition needed to keep our islands above water. … It is an insult to those who came here to struggle to survive.”
“Not enough” text
On Tuesday morning, diplomats and ministers who arrived day and night were searching for ways they could make progress, with a new version expected after overnight negotiations on the 13th day of the Dubai conference, delegates expected. But it seems that Sultan Al Jaber will not be able to fulfill his promise to conclude the conference at eleven in the morning (07:00 GMT) on the anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
It is therefore expected that the time will be extended, as happened in previous Conferences of the Parties. This is not good news for exhausted negotiators and small delegations that do not always have the means to extend their stay. But a delegate from the Marshall Islands said they would stay “until the end.”
In turn, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, “We are ready to stay a little longer.”
A consensus formula must currently be found among about 200 countries participating in the Conference of the Parties, while a minority of oil and gas producing countries, led by Saudi Arabia, oppose any explicit discussion of fossil fuels, which are a major source of their revenues.
For its part, the European Union considered the text “insufficient,” while the United States called for it to be “strengthened.” As for non-governmental organizations and experts, they denounced the inclusion of non-binding options that resemble a “shopping list” or “a la carte list” because they place all technologies on the same level, whether it is related to developing solar energy technologies, wind energy, nuclear energy, hydrogen, or carbon capture technology. This latest technology is still immature and its impact will be weak during the current crucial decade. But the oil sector is its biggest promoter.
“Lack of ambition”
One Western negotiator said, “I am surprised by the lack of ambition.”
But a source in the UAE presidency of the COP28 conference saw all of this as “a first move that should be started and built upon,” likening the matter to a game of chess.
Sultan Al Jaber admitted during a press conference on Monday evening, “Yes, we have made progress, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Al-Jaber has been seeking for days to bring positions closer between Saudi Arabia and its allies on the one hand and more than a hundred countries demanding an explicit call to abandon fossil fuels.
Attention is also turning to China and the United States, the two countries responsible for 41% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In November, the two countries issued a joint declaration that avoided addressing the “elimination” of fossil fuels and instead said that renewable energies such as solar and wind energy… should gradually replace fossil energies.
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Also, progress in achieving energy goals is still pending, especially with regard to adapting to the repercussions of global warming and providing financial aid to developing countries to persuade the countries of the South to accept the agreement.
Casey Flynn, global director for climate change at the United Nations Development Programme, said on Tuesday that the text must include “commitments at a level that helps developing countries transition towards clean energy and climate resilience. At the moment we do not see this.”
She added, “The climate crisis is approaching, and developing countries need support to be able to withstand… This text must mark the beginning of an ambitious era in which countries put their pledges on the table.”
France24/AFP
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2023-12-12 07:48:02
